Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 20
A Prayer for Victory for the King
Heading
For the choir director. A psalm by David.
The People’s Prayer
1 May the Lord answer you in the day of distress.
May the name of the God of Jacob lift you up.
2 May he send you help from the holy place.
May he support you from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrificial gifts. Interlude
May he accept your burnt offerings.
4 May he give you whatever your heart desires.
May he fulfill all your plans.
5 We will shout joyfully when God saves you.
In the name of our God we will lift up our banners.
May the Lord fulfill all your prayers.
The King’s Response
6 Now I know that the Lord saves his Anointed.[a]
He answers him from his holy heavens
with powerful acts of salvation from his right hand.
The People’s Prayer
7 Some rely on chariots, and some on horses,
but we rely on the name of the Lord our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
9 Lord, save the king! Answer us in the day we call!
Psalm 21
Thanksgiving for Victory
Heading
For the choir director. A psalm by David.
The People Thank the Lord for Victory
1 O Lord, the king rejoices in your strength.
He joyfully celebrates salvation from you.
2 You have granted him what his heart desired. Interlude
You have not denied the request from his lips.
3 Yes, you meet him to give him great blessings.
You place a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days, forever and ever.
5 He receives great glory through the salvation you gave.
You bestow splendor and majesty on him.
6 Surely you grant him blessings forever.
You make him glad with joy in your presence.
7 Surely the king trusts in the Lord,
and through the mercy of the Most High he will not be shaken.
The People Assure the King of Future Victory
8 Your hand will reach all your enemies.
Your right hand will reach those who hate you.
9 At the time when you appear, O Lord,
you will make them like a blazing furnace.
In his anger he will swallow them.
Fire will consume them.
10 You will cause their fruit to perish from the earth,
their seed[b] from among the children of Adam.
11 Indeed, they intend[c] evil against you.
They plan wicked schemes,
but they will not succeed,
12 because you will make them turn and run
when you get ready to aim your arrows at them.
The People Praise the Lord
13 Rise up, O Lord, in your strength.
We will sing and make music because of your might.
Psalm 110
The Lord’s Decree to My Lord
Heading
By David. A psalm.
The First Decree of the Lord
1 The decree of the Lord to my lord:[a]
“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies
a footstool under your feet.”
Description of King Messiah’s Rule
2 The Lord will stretch out your strong scepter from Zion.
Rule in the midst of your enemies.
3 Your people will be willing on the day of your power.
In majesty of holiness, from the womb of the dawn,
the dew of your youth will be yours.[b]
The Second Decree of the Lord
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever, in the manner of Melchizedek.”
Description of King Messiah’s Rule
Psalm 116
Deliverance From Death
Overview
1 I love the Lord, because he hears my voice.
He hears my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call to him all my days.
3 The ropes of death entangled me.
The walls of the grave hemmed me in.[a]
I found distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“Ah, Lord, please save my life!”
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous,
and our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord protects the inexperienced.[b]
In my weakness he saves me too.
Past Deliverance
7 Return, my soul, to your rest,
for the Lord has accomplished his purpose for you.
8 Indeed, you have delivered my soul from death,
my eye from weeping, my foot from stumbling,
9 so that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
10 I believed. Therefore, I have spoken:
“I am greatly afflicted.”
11 In my haste I said:
“All people are deceptive.”
Future Devotion
12 How can I repay the Lord for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation,
and I will call on[c] the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord,
now in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his favored ones.
16 Ah, Lord, truly I am your servant.
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
You opened my chains.
17 To you I will sacrifice a thank offering,
and I will call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
here in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courtyards of the house of the Lord,
in the middle of Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 117
Praise the Lord
51 In this way all the work that King Solomon did for the House of the Lord was finished. Solomon brought the things which David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of the House of the Lord.
Solomon Brings the Ark Into the Temple
8 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the heads of tribes, and the leading fathers of the people of Israel to appear before him in Jerusalem, in order to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from the City of David, that is, from Zion. 2 All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon in the month of Ethanim,[a] during the festival.[b] It was the seventh month. 3 Then all the elders of Israel came, and the priests lifted up the ark. 4 They brought up the Ark of the Lord, the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy vessels which were in the tent. The priests and the Levites brought them up.
5 King Solomon, along with the whole congregation of Israel who had gathered with him in front of the ark, was sacrificing sheep and cattle, too many to be counted.
6 The priests brought the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim, 7 for the cherubim were spreading their wings over the place for the ark, so that the cherubim covered the ark and its poles with their wings. 8 The poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside. They are there to this day.
9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets, which Moses had placed there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt.
10 When the priests came out from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the House of the Lord. 11 The priests were not able to take their positions to minister in the presence of the cloud, because the Glory of the Lord had filled the House of the Lord.
King Solomon’s Prayer
12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he dwells in thick darkness. 13 I have truly built a majestic house for you, a place for you to dwell forever.”
14 Then the king turned and blessed the whole congregation of Israel, while the whole congregation of Israel was standing there. 15 Then Solomon said:
Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel. What he said with his mouth to my father David, he has fulfilled with his hand.
The Lord said, 16 “From the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I did not choose a city from all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house for my Name to be there, ⎣nor did I choose any man to be a leader over my people Israel; but now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there,⎦[c] and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.”
17 It was on my father David’s heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
18 However, the Lord said to my father David, “It was on your heart to build a house for my Name. That was a good thing to desire. 19 But you will not build the house. Your son, who will come from your own body, will build the house for my Name.”
20 So the Lord kept his word which he had spoken, and I arose in the place of my father David. I am seated on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord said. I have built this house for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 I have established a place there for the Ark, which contains the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
17 Three days later, Paul called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Gentlemen, brothers, although I had done nothing against the people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was handed over as a prisoner from Jerusalem to the Romans. 18 After they interrogated me, they wanted to release me, because there were no grounds for the death penalty in my case. 19 But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—not that I had any charge to bring against my own people. 20 That is why I asked to see you and speak to you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”
21 They said to him, “We have not received any letters about you from Judea, and none of the brothers who came here has reported or said anything evil about you. 22 But we would like to hear from you what you think, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect.”
23 They set a day to meet with Paul, and even more of them came to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and testified about the kingdom of God. He also tried to convince them about Jesus, both from the Law of Moses and the Prophets. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others continued in their unbelief.
25 They were arguing with one another and began to leave after Paul made this one statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your[a] fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
26 Go to this people and say,
You will keep hearing and yet never understand;
you will keep seeing and yet never perceive.
27 For the heart of this people has grown dull,
their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and turn, and I would heal them.[b]
28 “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”[c]
30 For two whole years Paul stayed in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to visit him. 31 He was preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without anyone stopping him.
Jesus’ Arrest
43 Just then, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. A crowd was with him, armed with swords and clubs. They were from the chief priests, the experts in the law, and the elders. 44 Now his betrayer had given them a signal, saying, “The one I kiss is the man. Arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45 He went right to Jesus and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 They laid hands on him and arrested him. 47 But one of those who stood nearby drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
48 Jesus responded by saying to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to capture me as you would a criminal? 49 Day after day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But this happened so that the Scriptures may be fulfilled.” 50 Then the disciples all left him and fled.
51 A certain young man was following him, wearing just a linen cloth over his naked body. They seized him, 52 but he left behind the linen cloth and fled from them naked.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.